Romeo and Twi'lek
by The Dream Diver
Summary: A scoundrel risks his life to help a cute Twi'lek escape Tatooine.
1. Chapter 1

In a galaxy full of people willing to die for and -much worse- kill others for their beliefs, it's hard to find someone levelheaded.

Myself being an amateur surveyor of worlds, women, and winning pazaak hands, it took me a considerable amount of traveling and sneaking and hiding, and running, to find her.

And who else but a Twi'lek? Their Lekku isn't just for show, though she did have quite a pair.

It was after a fairly mediocre bit of traveling after my big win on Lok and my subsequent _very_ successful escape from that pit, that our paths crossed on Tatooine.

I was aiming to double the pot I scored from that last hand of Pazaak on Lok in the local pod racing circuit. I reasoned that it being a very unknown little town on such an insignificant planet, it'd be easy to spot the best racer in a gaggle of amateurs.

As usual, I was only partly right, but what was unusual was that I did not flee the planet afterwards to save my own skin, but to protect someone else's.

I had just tossed the dock master a credit chip -receiving a funny look in return- after finalizing my docking information and made my way outside to find the nearest cantina when I heard the horns blasting into the air above. I saw the cantina at the corner of the dusty, busy road, but it and everything around it was overshadowed by the towering stadium letting all know about the races going on with its great flapping, tattered flags and bruising horns.

I looked at the cantina and then I looked at the stadium. I didn't look at the incredible sum of credits in my pocket, but I knew I was going to do something with it.

The stadium it was.

I made my way past the very diverse cast of ugly sentients trying to make their way in life on this speck of dust of a planet and to the betting window. A large set of eyes peered past the bars separating us and watched my every move. I spoke to it and it seemed to understand Basic, and credits, albeit much more fluently than the former.

I set the stack of chips on my side of the window and the eyes were distracted for a moment before cutting right back to me while I looked at the roster of racers on deck on the holoscreen above the window.

All looked like small time thugs or desperate people with mouths to feed or both. All except one. Amongst all the drab brown of the rough sand and clothing, smooth, blue skin and uncovered Lekku seemed to shine in the intense sunlight. A young female Twi'lek with a mischievous look in her eye sat in the pod that appeared most unlikely to fall apart on the track. She tested her controls before she snapped the goggles on her forehead over her eyes. She looked like a winner.

I asked the eyes what the Twi'lek's name was and got an irritated gurgle in response before two very delicate looking tentacles inched out and took my little stack of credits. I thanked the thing and hurried to the viewing area at the starting line.

I was unsure how to feel about finding the stadium filled at a fraction of its capacity. Bored and pensive looking creatures leaned on the railing, while others' eyes were glued to the view-screens and lineup of the racers. I peered out onto the burning sands and spotted my Twi'lek. Her blue head tails protruded from her skull cap and were wrapped around her neck like a scarf. I hoped it'd brace the impact of a crash, at least.

Little droids ran to and fro from the vehicles and garage pits. Jawas supervised but seemed to be just as ineffective at preparing a race. Eventually the announcers decided it was time enough and the crews vacated the track. The racers primed their engines and awaited the countdown.

Seemingly always present, the ruling Hutt sat on his opulent mound of pillows and slaves and hit the gong with a little hammer at the last count. The gong's reverberations were amplified throughout the stadium and the racers shot out, though a couple failed to get off the ground and remained there for the rest of the race.

Though I felt a pain of empathy for the stalled losers, I felt glee at my increased chances. The track extended out of the stadium and traversed a difficult course out on the dunes and back into the stadium as the finish line. I saw the Twi'lek shoot out amongst the front of the pack but had to watch the rest of the race on the view screen. I cycled through the racers till it focused on her.

It said her name was Sahra Sarcosa, and it was her eighth race on Tatooine circuits, though it didn't list how many wins she had under her belt. She was safe in third place but I could tell she was building momentum. She stomped on her accelerator to get extra boosts over the tops of the dunes, sometimes flying over racers in smaller pods below.

The flying recorder tracking her zoomed in on her face as she cleared a gorge, her red tongue stuck out in pure focus, her Lekku threatening to unwind around her neck. Her sand poncho flapped around her at the incredible speed she was going.

The other patrons around me grumbled at her jump to second, presumably prejudiced against the unusual existence of a Twi'lek on this planet. I caught my smile before it spread upon my face in case they grew belligerent. I looked around once more and saw a few shady Rodians loitering in the corner, they didn't seem to be talking much but their screen was fixed on Sahra as well.

I absently hoped she'd win for their sake as well but hoped they had no ulterior motive. I turned back to my screen to catch her on the rebound of a collision with another racer. His helmet and goggles shrouded what type of being he was but he tried to slam into her once more, forcing Sahra to mount the wall of the canyon to avoid him. She launched off the side onto the ridge of the canyon, causing some consternation from the viewers and the announcer, citing the Hutt's annoyance with such a move.

Though it was technically not allowed, the rules were usually a bit bent in pod racing in general, so no real repercussions would befall her unless she abandoned the race completely. She obviously had no desire to do that though, and blasted her pod over the side onto the rear end of the pod barreling forward in first. A great splash of sparks flew about the two vehicles as she collided with him. The driver turned around and threw a spanner at her pod, obviously furious at the attack.

The Twi'lek careened away from him and slingshotted into first, the incumbent's vehicle now crippled. He shook his fist in fury as his pod dropped to the ground and the remaining racers left him in their dust. Sahra didn't seem to savor his defeat as I had, she was wholly focused on keeping her pod functional long enough to cross that finish line.

The mysterious being gunning for her reappeared from behind a dune, gaining on her fast. She looked over her shoulder and saw him coming, leaning into the turn in the course to get away from him. More racers followed and cut him off from her, eliciting a remark I couldn't understand from one of the suspicious Rodians.

I raised my guard after that, uncertain of their intent. Sahra seemed to be holding onto first place solidly, maintaining a good distance between her and the other racers and closing in on the last portion of the track.

A field of scrapped and destroyed speeders and pod racers remained before the stadium entrance and the finish line. Sahra weaved expertly in and out of the way of demolished vehicles, though a few racers following her could not do the same, crashing and some exploding on impact with the hunks of metal.

The shrouded rival had no such problem, unfortunately and brought up second place soon enough; only a handful of original racers remaining. Sahra passed into the tunnel of the stadium followed shortly after by her hunter. The view screen stayed black for eternal seconds and no one around me made a sound in anticipation of the tunnel exit.

With a flash of blue over brown, Sahra zoomed out of the darkness, her poncho gone and her pod belching smoke. Her goggles seemed hastily replaced on her face and she appeared to be gasping for breath as she crossed the short distance over the sand across the finish line, the only one to do so for several moments until a rough looking Weequay burst out the tunnel, Sahra's pursuer nowhere to be found.

The scheming Rodians exclaimed angrily, I knew now there was some correlation between them and the violent racer. I quickly sliced into the view screen to get into the network all the screens used to show the race and overloaded the one the Rodians were about to stomp away from. Their screen exploded with bright light and bits of metal and a great concussion. They screamed and I dashed away in the confusion to collect my winnings from the betting center.

I hurried past the stadium security and verified my identity with the official who dealt me my winnings, hiding how overjoyed I was out of politeness. I tucked the belt of credit chips into my overcoat and turned to head for some cantina to lie low in. On my way out the door, I remembered why I even blew up those Rodians; Sahra. Someone was definitely out to get her.

Usually I'd just cut and run in a situation that could endanger my life and credits, but that girl had made me the most money I'd had in years. She was cute, too. Instead of turning for the exit, I found my way to the vehicle bays and searched for Sahra or whoever was after her.

At the end of the bay I saw what looked to be the Rodians from earlier snooping around an empty stall, one of them standing to the side holding onto one of his bug-eyes in pain. It seemed my little trick wasn't harmless to such sensitive eyes. I walked past them without a glance out the open garage door opposite them. I asked a beggar sitting at the corner of the building by the roadside if he's seen a blue Twi'lek and he pointed me down the road.

I dropped him a couple credits and hailed a speeder. It was driven by a couple Jawas who turned around to learn where I wanted to go and I pointed down the road. They chattered to each other a moment and then we were off.

I scanned the street and the people walking by for any sign of her or trouble. Eventually the city turned to outskirts and the Jawas grew restless. The passenger turned to look at me several times before quietly throwing his hands up and saying something to the driver.

Their annoyance and leisurely control of the speeder going down the street was broken by a large, boisterous land speeder tearing out of nowhere and crossing the road before us. The Jawas screamed in surprise and I yelled for them to follow the land speeder. They struggled to reclaim control of the speeder and then did as I asked, albeit reluctantly and not as fast as I'd liked.

The usual riffraff occupied the speeder: Duros and Rodians and a large Trandosian in the back. They seemed to be following a trail breaking away from the traveled path, into the badlands. They were going so fast they didn't seem to notice we were following them, or simply thought it was Jawa travel.

After passing nothing but moisture vaporators, our band of thugs stopped abruptly and pulled off the little trail. I thrust my hand forward from my hunched sitting position, attempting to look like a Jawa to a cursory glance. The Jawas drove around them and continued on the path up a little hill and I hopped off, tossing them a credit chip and getting low.

The Jawas shrieked excitedly and sped off, I cursed them internally and got out my macrobinoculars, laying on the shrubland. The aliens were out of their speeder and advancing cautiously down a ravine. Their blasters were drawn and they glanced everywhere but behind them; unconcerned about witnesses it seemed. These guys really were small time, then, if they didn't notice or remember the Jawas and I.

From my position I could see the still forms of two of the Rodians from the stadium laying face down ahead of the aliens. They lay a short distance away from each other, just failing to reach the small shack at the end of the ravine. The Rodians' reinforcements checked their pulses briefly and kept their weapons trained on the shack.

They approached the door and the leading Trandoshan reached one arm toward the door. Before he could pull it open, the last Rodian, tied and screaming, was thrown off the roof onto the startled thugs below. The Trandoshan and a Duro were knocked over, causing one of them to discharge his pistol, obliterating the palpable silence of the gang's approach and throwing the ravine into chaos.

An engine roared to life and the aliens dashed for cover, blasting the shed as they fell. Red lasers speared through the thin metal walls and stray shots vaporized sand and rock. Sahra burst through the shack's flimsy door on her swoop, blindsiding the Trandoshan as he got to his feet.

The aliens shot at her as she raced down the ravine. I got up fast and un-holstered my blaster, clicking the safety off and wondering how this had happened. I aimed at the shed and squeezed a few blasts off, sending green lasers flashing over the aliens' heads. They ducked and shot wildly into the hills, only a few shots landing in my direction.

I thrust my blaster back into my holster and sprinted down the hill to intercept Sahra as she fled for her life. I was practically falling down the hill as I hopped from foot to foot to control my momentum. I ran hard back onto the footpath and heard the drone of the swoop closing in fast. Sahra cried out for me to get out of the way, only seconds from running me down with her swoop.

I sidestepped and readied myself to jump onto the back of her swoop before she got away. I wasn't certain if she understood that I was helping her -or wanted to help her anyway- and knew she wouldn't be able to hear me say anything, so I prayed she wouldn't attack me once I was on board.

She seemed satisfied I got out of the way and turned her attention back to the path ahead of her, so I had time to explain when I leapt with all my might onto her swoop. My hands caught the edge of the cockpit and I pulled myself in after being dragged above the sand a moment. My heart returned back to its assigned spot in my chest as I felt the familiar safety inside of a vehicle opposed to dangling off its side.

I was stuffed in behind Sahra as she piloted the machine and tried to duck further as the blaster fire returned towards us until we were out of sight from the ravine. Once Sahra realized this she tried to strike me with her elbow, cursing me and demanding I get off. I dodged her attempts to hit me and carefully retrieved my winnings on their clip and showed it to her when she turned her head to look at me. I could see her eyes bulge under her goggles and her lips mouthed something I couldn't hear. She turned to hit me once more for good measure but I shouted at her to stop.

We rode on together in silence, I wasn't sure where yet but I presumed she had a better hiding spot than that little wilderness retreat that got shot to pieces. To my surprise and bittersweet amusement, we drove right back into town. Sahra did not seem worried but she did periodically check for any skulking degenerates around. We turned off the main road into a deserted alley. She slowly piloted the swoop into a massive overturned container and shut it off.

I waited to see what she wanted me to do. She spun around and grabbed my collar, I could see my own wide eyes in her large brown ones. She demanded to know my name and how I was involved in this.

I told her my name and explained that I had bet on her race and she had made me a very rich man. She still appeared skeptical so I reached for my belt of credits.

"A very rich man," I said.

She released my collar and gently raised the belt closer to her face with her fingertips. Her eyes returned to mine and she said, "That's a lot of money."

I nodded and smiled awkwardly.

"Winner doesn't even get half as much and I'm the one risking my life out there," she grumbled. She thought for a moment and added, "A quarter."

"What?" I responded, hoping she didn't mean what I thought she meant. "Why? What about your prize money?"

She seethed and said, "I didn't get it! Those Garth thugs tried to kill me after I pulled my swoop in. I had to get out of there without even receiving the trophy!" She bit her lip and seemed to change tactics.

"Please. You're a part of this now, help me. I made you that money and almost died three times over now for my trouble."

I didn't know what to say so I fixed my collar. "Just hold on. I don't even know why those guys were trying to kill you. What'd you do to them? Who's Garth?"

Sahra climbed out of the swoop and I followed her out of the box.

"This," she said, gesturing toward the swoop, "isn't mine."

I couldn't mask my disappointment.

"It's Garth's, then?" I asked.

Sahra nodded.

"Garth is the local gangster trying to get away with as much as the Hutts won't notice. Everyone who's too afraid to work for the Hutts works for him instead. I didn't plan on sticking around here any longer so I thought I could stick it to him and make some money at the same time."

She sighed hard and crossed her arms before walking towards the door beside the container.

I followed and listened to her as she unlocked the door.

"But somehow, he found out I took the bike."

She pushed the door open and walked in, waiting for me to follow before shutting and locking it behind me.

We were in a large room that served as what looked to be both her living space and a mechanical workshop.

She noticed me looking around and quietly said, "I needed that prize money."

I nodded and asked her what she worked on in here.

"I'm a mechanic. I can fix anything. Starship, swoop bike, speeder. Anything for credits."

I scoffed and asked, "Do you "fix" things for credits too?"

She was taken off guard and denied it thoroughly.

"I'd never! I keep to myself and do good work. Garth's gang does that, all the business has been driven away and that's the very reason I had to steal their bike and get out of here," she explained.

"How likely are they going to find us here?" I asked.

She sat down on her bed and said, "I don't know. But if you have family or people you care about here, they might find them soon."

I groaned and held my face in my hands as I thought of my ship, parked right in the open on that landing platform.

She asked me what was wrong and I told her my ship was vulnerable and probably found by now.

Sahra jumped up and yelled, "You have a ship?"

I hesitated a moment before affirming that I did and hoped I still did after they were done with it.

Sahra was still dumbstruck that I possessed a means off this planet and said, "Why didn't you say you had a ship?"

I shrugged and said, "I hadn't thought about it, been kind of focused on swoops until this point."

She slapped her thighs and closed the distance between us.

"Forget the quarter! Just get me out of here, please! It won't cost you a thing but your courage to get it back from Garth."

Sahra stopped and smiled with that same look she wore before the race. She wagged her finger at me and said, "And you need me to help you find it before he scraps it."

I knew she was right but didn't want to give in to her so easily, so I cupped my chin and faced away from her, feigning consideration.

"What planet do you even want to go to?" I asked, turning around.

Sahra laughed and hugged me before gathering her own blaster and valuables she couldn't leave behind if we did manage to get off-world. She offered me some spikes and a bag of supplies to hang over my shoulder before she answered simply, "The Core."

I didn't know what to say so I just followed her out the door and back into the stolen swoop bike. I didn't know where I wanted to go, either. Every planet I'd gone to or fled from, was in the pursuit of money, and, now that I had plenty, I didn't know where I wanted to be.

I felt like I should be with Sahra, though, and would trust in that for the time being. I had no idea how far we would go and how hard we would have to live before we found a place for ourselves. I presumed we'd end up on Nar Shaddaa, and call it there, but that wouldn't cover the half of it.

Despite the promise of danger, she was giddy with excitement at the prospect of leaving Tatooine. She told me about how much she hated the sand and being what felt like the only Twi'lek on the planet. It had started out tolerable enough, but it became harder and harder to eek out a living with the arrival of Garth and his thugs.

She drove us slowly through the city, keeping a low profile under the scrutiny of Garth and Hutt hired men. We each held a blaster beside our leg, ready for them to spot us at any moment.

We pulled into an empty lot beside a dry wharf and Sahra made a beeline for the low wall separating the two. Her blaster was still in her hand and she was taking a deep breath as if preparing for something. I pulled out my blaster and looked at her, waiting for an answer.

"Your ship will be in there," she said, gesturing toward the small starship storage building. "All we have to do is break in there and then fly out of there. It'll be easy. They're just bullies used to kicking Jawas around."

I worked my jaw but nodded resolutely. I couldn't show my face around this town anymore so I might as well leave Tatooine, and Sahra definitely couldn't stay.

She hopped the wall and sprinted for the back door of the dock. I followed close behind and crouched by the door while she sliced into it. After a couple seconds, the door terminal beeped in acceptance and we slinked in.

We walked right into a guard and fell in a heap. Our blasters were tangled in limbs and flung across the floor. Sahra got to her feet first and shot her leg out at the disheveled guard, knocking his head into the floor. She hovered a leg above his head in case he started to rise again but he remained still, breathing slowly. We each grabbed an end of him after retrieving our effects and set him outside beside the door we snuck in through.

Miraculously, no one heard our little scuffle in the hallway but the encounter was already too close a call. We stuck to the wall and Sahra led us down the left hall, listening carefully for any sound of Garth's men. We almost ran into another patrol before we ducked into a maintenance closet and waited for them to pass.

"Sorry," she whispered, our noses almost touching we were stuck so close together.

My adrenaline fueled focus was broken by that and I had to stifle a laugh. Sahra smiled and said, "I told you it would be fun."

Once the guards passed, we eased the door open and continued crouched down along the wall. After a few locked doors and fuzzy recollections of where Sahra thought the hangar door was, we found it.

We knew if we opened or sliced the door, and were seen, every guard and mechanic inside would know what was up and alert the others. Instead we crawled through a duct servicing the hangar's fire containment system and very carefully removed the grate into the hangar.

My ship sat before us, tall and shiny, a Herald Class shuttle. I've not seen any other like mine, and I've no idea of its origin; having 'won' it in a card game years earlier. It seemed to be the only thing I could keep ahold of beside my orbital level of skill at gambling.

Sahra seemed impressed but stayed focused on the matter at hand. Several of the usual sort of goon were standing around while mechanics were examining the shuttles weaponry. It wasn't much but turbolasers were turbolasers. Sahra grabbed my arm and pointed at a rather large and rather slimy looking Gran overseeing the mechanics' work.

Sahra looked me in the eyes until I nodded at her, understanding that she was asking if I was ready for this final foray into danger. She nodded once back at me and inhaled deeply, furrowing her eyes as she exhaled.

Anticipating her plan, I rose along with her and fired my blasters at the mechanics, while she shot at the guards. The starship mechanics ran for their lives as my blaster fire impacted the floor around them. The guards were not so fortunate, one falling onto the floor as they ran, his back singed with blaster fire. The others took cover behind cargo and began returning fire as we ran for the ship's ramp. Garth roared in outrage -as furiously as a Gran can- and made a rush for Sahra, forgoing even an attempt at shooting at her.

Sahra squeezed off a couple bolts into Garth as he charged her but he only growled in pain as he picked her up and slammed her into the floor. I skidded to a stop and fired over Garth into the guards' cover, buying me a few seconds to save Sahra. I brought my blaster up and then slammed it down into Garth's head as he tried to throttle Sahra's throat. The alien fell over onto Sahra, who scrambled out from under him immediately, taking my hand to help her rise. The guards resumed their volley and we ran up the landing ramp, narrowly avoiding several blaster bolts.

I sprinted for the Bridge and shouted for Sahra to lift the ramp behind me as I ran. I jumped into the pilot's seat and started takeoff procedures. The engine roared to life and the ship's lasers warmed. Sahra ran into the bridge, taking the copilot's chair after informing me the ramp was up. She took control of the lasers and fired them into the doors and walls near Garth's guards, who were all spilling in to try and stop us. None made it on board and their small arms fire could hardly damage the ship's hull anyway.

I lifted the yoke and the ship rose into the open sky above us, rendering the thugs' attempt to stop us futile. I pushed the throttle forward, launching us into the atmosphere and out into space. The Twi'lek girl and I sat in awed silence as we watched the stars grow in size and radiance before us. The hum of the ship's life sustaining systems descended through the fog of danger and adrenaline we had burst out of. The circulation of soon to be recycled air settled us back into the present.

I looked over at Sahra and saw her expression of tense determination thaw into a carefree smile of triumph as she jumped out of her seat and threw her hands into the air.

"We did it!" she cried. "I can't believe it!" She turned toward the bridge window and pumped her fist toward it. "I made it off Tatooine. I made it off Tatooine," she repeated.

I got out of my seat and stretched, feeling grateful to have made it out of there alive as well. I led her out of the bridge and into the common room to talk. I had her sit as I got us something to drink.

"What kind of ship is this anyway?" She asked, taking the cup from me and looking around us.

I sat down and looked as well, though I was quite used to it and accepted its uniqueness.

"I don't know. I don't exactly have the paperwork for this thing, if you know what I mean. No one who's seen it can tell me what it is either, besides that it's definitely alien, or worse, Sith."

Sahra raised her eyebrows above her cup and set it down after her pull.

"Sith?" she echoed.

"Yeah," I replied. "There's definitely something about its design, but I don't know. I appreciate its speed and low maintenance regardless."

Sahra nodded and said, "I'll have to take a look at her engine some time. But, more pertinently, where is your refresher?"

I nodded and finished downing my drink. "Yeah, right this way," I said, leading her around the corner to the refresher beside the crew compartment I decided would be her quarters.

"There it is, and to the right is your quarters. Oh, it's a 'He' as well."

Sahra thanked me and was about to open the refresher door before she turned back to me with a confused look on her face.

"Who's a he?" she asked.

I gestured to the bulkhead around us and said, "The ship. He's called Bo."

Sahra only blinked and said, "That's… different. But I like it!" she added, before entering the refresher and shutting the door behind her.

The shower started and I returned to the bridge to plot our course. I knew she wanted to go to the Core -though I had no idea where in the Core- but presumed she wouldn't object to stopping by Nar Shaddaa. Every road twisted off to Nar Shaddaa before returning to the straight and narrow path. At least every road I had taken with the remote possibility of stopping by the Smuggler's Moon had.

I set the course along the Triellus Trade Route, and to avoid any other vessels until we passed through Bothawui, before heading straight for Nar Shaddaa. I had just set the autopilot when I heard a scream from deep within the ship. I jumped in my seat and then rushed to investigate. Being part of a now two-person crew, it could only be Sahra but I had no idea what could have happened to her.

I ran into the common area and rounded the corner to Sahra's refresher when I was hit in the face with something and sent reeling backwards. My hands instinctively covered my face to protect it but no more attacks came so I removed them tentatively and saw Sahra standing outside the refresher in only a towel. She held it up with one hand and held the pitcher I had used earlier in the other. Her eyes were wide and she was seething.

"What are you trying to pull here?" she yelled.

"What? Pull? Why did you hit me?" I sputtered, confused.

Her eyes hardened and she said, "I know you got me off Tatooine, and everything, but that doesn't mean you can do whatever you want with me."

I held my hands out in front of me to calm her down but my movement toward her startled her and she threw the pitcher at me.

I dodged it and shouted, "Hey! I don't know what you're talking about, Sahra! I'm not doing anything to you! What happened?"

Sahra held her towel to her body tight and I stopped myself from looking at her below the shoulders. We stared at each other in silence for a moment before she told me, "I finished showering and heard noises outside the door. I called out to you and when I opened the door, someone ran away, and it's only you and me on this ship. So you were peeping on me!"

My jaw fell open in disbelief before I assured her I would never violate a crew member's privacy like that, especially not someone who I didn't know was planning on staying or not. She countered with that those circumstances would be optimal for a creep to take a look and enjoy it for a couple lonely weeks on the space lanes.

"Sahra, I was on the bridge setting course for Nar Shaddaa, there's no way. We'll search the ship; one of Garth's men could have stowed aboard."

Sahra thought about this and agreed.

"I didn't think you were like that but I can't think of anything else that could've happened. We better find someone," she said.

She whirled around and marched into her quarters. I hoped no one else was on my ship without my knowledge but we couldn't go on without figuring out what she saw. I followed her into her quarters to ensure she saw me before she got dressed.

"Hey, I want to make sure your room is safe before-"

Sahra screamed, obviously not expecting me to walk in on her changing.

"Get out! I thought you didn't do it!"

I saw only blue before I covered my eyes and spun around.

"I didn't! I just wanted you to see me so I'd be covered if it happened again."

I heard her dress on her bed as she yelled, "What are you talking about! Leave!"

"I'm going, I'm sorry!"

I walked briskly out of her quarters and back to the bridge. I retrieved my blaster from atop the console and initiated the jump to hyperspace. If there was a stowaway, they would feel the change in our speed and make a move.

I returned to the common room and put the pitcher and cups away. A quick search of the area revealed nothing about our potential intruder. I examined the refresher Sahra used and found that it was indeed wet though untampered with.

My suspicious Twi'lek companion walked out of her quarters in one of the few outfits she could bring with her when we left her home for the last time. She was wearing comfortable looking gray pants with a warm sweater suited for the cold confines of the ship. I wondered where she had come from to be in possession of a sweater on a desert planet like Tatooine.

"Oh, hey," I said, attempting to ford any awkwardness between us.

"Hi, find anything?" she asked.

At least she seemed willing to deal with it too.

I shook my head and closed the refresher door.

"There's still the rest of the ship to search. Go get your blasters," I said, tapping mine.

Sahra frowned and told me garth had knocked her's out of her hands and she didn't pick them up in the rush to escape. I cursed and apologized.

"I have a couple spares you can use. We can search there first," I said, gesturing toward my quarters.

She followed me in -after checking my refresher for the stowaway- and watched me open my footlocker. I removed the several different blaster pistols I had collected and replaced over the years and placed them on my bed.

"Go ahead and pick whichever you like. I'll search the room."

Sahra approached the bed and whistled low, picking up a blaster and examining it. She seemed to know enough about blasters to know what she liked, as well as preferring to wield two at once. She made her choices and put the last one back in my locker.

I had searched under the bed and my closet, and had even looked into the vent running above, but to no avail. Sahra shrugged and thanked me for the blasters. I took a look at the ones she chose and noted the correct choice in balance that using two blasters would require. I'd have to learn more about her when we were safe from threats real or imagined.

We searched the rest of the ship together but couldn't find anything. Sahra claimed to still feel like she was being watched but I just felt tired. We had sat down in the common area once again and had just finished eating when I decided to try to find out more about her.

"Sahra, I know that whatever happened must have been disturbing but I promise you, it wasn't me. I'm dumbfounded that we haven't found anything that could have scared you but I wouldn't spy on you. I understand if you want to get off on Nar Shaddaa."

Sahra looked at me and then at her refresher.

"Maybe I imagined it after all that excitement on Tatooine. But I don't think I did, and I don't really think it was you, so I don't know. But you did walk in on me changing! I am certain of that!" she said in semi-mock anger.

I chuckled and said, "That was me, and I am sorry about that, I swear I didn't see a thing," raising my hand and looking her in the eye.

Sahra huffed and said, "Sure," with a flippant toss of her Lekku over her shoulder.

Before the silence could settle I saw my opportunity to ask her about herself and asked, "Were you from Tatooine?"

Sahra made an annoyed sound and replied, "Of course not. But I don't know where I was born. Not the name of the place anyway. I just remember it being wide open and green. I was pretty much raised on Shaddaa though, like most displaced by things."

"Things?" I asked her, presuming that could mean any of the very frequent and very deadly wars that couldn't help but break out in the galaxy.

"Slavery. War. Having money and not having money."

She shrugged and left it at that.

"So you were a slave?"

"Not at an age to understand it. More so by proxy of my parents being slaves. Everyone involved died before I knew. Or could care at that point."

Sahra sat back and smiled weakly before saying, "Well that's enough about my childhood, what about you? What part of the galaxy are you from?"

Her vague yet unfortunate history had ended as quickly as it began and I was caught off guard by the question.

"Me? Well, I was born on a ship, not a planet. And no, it wasn't this ship."

Sahra chuckled and said, "So you prefer being on ships than land?"

"I prefer sitting at a pazaak table."

Sahra glanced around and said with a sly grin, "I should have known, that explains why this ship is so bare."

"So charming, Miss Sarcosa. But I'm in luck more often than out, as evident in picking you as my swoop race winner."

I pulled out my strip of credits and dropped it on the table.

Sahra balked at the credits just as she had the first time she saw them and she commented as much.

Our ogling was interrupted by a shrill cry and small arms reaching across the table to swipe the credits up and take off for the interior of the ship.

We both shouted and jumped out of our chairs to chase after it. It was a small brown blur of a figure that disappeared into the darkness of the engine room. I holstered my blaster and Sahra tucked hers into her pants.

We entered and got low, starting in opposite directions to loop around the engine room. The hyperdrive vibrated intensely as It shot us through hyperspace. Sahra and I knew to quiet our breathing but the creature knew only desperation, to steal something so rashly with no plan.

His muffled breathing sounded closer as I passed the hyperdrive. A click resounded off the far wall and I stopped. I could see Sahra's shining brown eyes in the dim light staring at me. She pointed a blaster at a spot between us, indicating the thief was trapped between us. I nodded at her though I was unsure if she could see it.

I advanced and slowly brought my arms to bear and then shot them out into the darkness. My hands gripped rough clothing and the being shrieked, fighting me and wriggling violently to get free. Sahra came up from behind and tried to hit the thing in the head with her blaster but missed in the darkness, hitting only the air and my shoulder.

The creature's eyes glowed in the darkness and squinted in its struggle, it came to me that it was likely a Jawa. I shouted that out to Sahra and she only groaned and redoubled her efforts to snatch the credits out of his hands but he was flailing too wildly. His little foot kicked Sahra in the jaw as he fought, causing her to recoil and accidentally fire the blaster, hitting the hyperdrive. Sparks erupted from the engine, briefly illuminating the three of us tangled up in our tussle.

The ship lurched and the three of us were launched against the wall. I cursed loudly and yanked the jawa up by his hood and punched the darkness within his hood. It's breath was driven out of its body and the creature fell limp. I dropped him onto the deck and retrieved the credits from its pocket.

Sahra sat against the wall and held her head. I grabbed her dropped blaster and helped her to her feet. I handed it back to her and she took it, reluctantly.

"I'm so sorry," she said. "I shouldn't have even brought them in here."

I stopped her and pointed a light at the hyperdrive. There was a gash in one of the coils and was rendered completely destroyed.

"I blame that miserable thing, not you. I should probably blame myself for not searching the ship right away but this guy deserves it way more."

I grabbed the Jawa's little body and dragged him out of the engine room and into the maintenance closet beside it. I locked the door from the outside and quickly made my way to the Bridge.

The hyperdrive engine was completely offline, with light years remaining between us and even the halfway point of Scarif. There was no way we were hardly going to make it to Bothawui let alone Nar Shaddaa without the aid of hyperspace travel.

Sahra walked In and saw me staring at the display of the ship's internal systems; the hyperdrive being outlined in a brutal red.

"So it's done for?" she asked.

I turned to her and nodded.

"Damn."

She plopped into the copilot chair and took a look at the galaxy map. She enhanced the image to show our proximity and glaring meager progress toward Nar Shaddaa.

"Closest world is Roon, know anyone there who can help us?"

I scoffed and said, "I don't, and I doubt we'll be able to find anyone willing to part with their own hyperdrive. The planets lost in time, trapped behind an asteroid field and a gas cloud."

Sahra pointed at the growing green planet in our view screen.

"The hyperdrive got us past the cloud and the field, and, unfortunately, we have a fortune to convince someone to help us."

She gave me a wan smile and put a hand on my shoulder.

I looked at her hand and then groaned.

"My lucks run out, Sahra."

She laughed and told me she felt lucky to have met me and made it off Tatooine together. It was a genuine gesture and I appreciated it, but I only covered my face with my hands and murmured my despondence.

We neared Roon and prepared to touch down at one of the few concentrations of people. Sahra changed into working clothes and wore her new blasters in her holster belt. After ensuring the Jawa couldn't escape, I showed her some of the ship's basic controls, which she took to quickly.

"I'm used to swoop bikes but it's all coming back to me. We ready to land?"

I put our landing zone up on the view screen, merely a murky field beside the mud the long-stranded populace of Roon toiled in to produce their sustenance. There was no governing body to consult on landing on the planet, as the utility of a starship was about equivalent with that of a boat or team of animals.

I took hold of the ship's controls and began our descent onto the planet. Sahra took on the copilot's typical functions and read me measurements and flight data.

"Weather's clear. Should be all on you to put us down. No incoming communications, take your time."

Sahra's hands flipped switches and set controls as she checked the systems. She had indeed picked it up quickly, soon proving she no longer needed me to check her call-outs and simply act on them. I eased the nose of the ship through the atmosphere as we rapidly descended toward the surface.

"Touchdown in tee-minus fifteen seconds."

"Copy that," I said, pulling the throttle back on the engines.

I deployed the landing gear, and waited for the telltale drop in altitude. The view screen of the Bridge phased from red hot to murky white as we passed through the cloud cover. I glanced at the landing computer as I always had, but found it turned toward my new copilot.

"I got you, pull up fifteen degrees and then begin landing."

I nodded and followed her directions, gingerly touching the feet of the landing gear onto the field. I waited until I was confident the mud wouldn't swallow the ship before engaging the brake. The ship lurched back before settling, proving it would hold in place while we searched for replacement parts for our hyperdrive.

"Great work," I breathed, always one to fret over a landing.

"You too," she replied. "Thanks for teaching me. Came back to me like a charm."

Sahra got out of her seat and waited for me to finish setting up security procedures before we left the Bridge together.


	2. Chapter 2

"So, where should we start for the hyperdrive coil? And what should we do about the Jawa?" she asked.

"I'm not certain we'll even be able to find one but our best bet is to ask whoever's farm we just landed on if they know anybody. Let's go check on the little thief. I almost forgot about him."

Sahra nodded in agreement and we made our way to the maintenance closet we imprisoned him in.

"I don't think a blaster will be necessary, Sahra," I said to my companion after she drew her weapon and took a firing stance toward the door.

"He's crazy! You saw how wild he got when we found him."

"Yes, but I would rather not kill a Jawa. A punch was enough to stop him, he's probably still out from it."

Sahra bit her lip and eyed me and I felt unsure she wanted the creature to live. I crossed my arms and she sighed, holstering the blaster.

"Fine. But I'm going to be the one to punch him if he pulls anything this time."

I nodded and slowly opened the door. Just as Sahra predicted, he was out the doorway like a wild animal. We were ready for him, though, and stopped him from getting very far from the closet. I tripped him, sending him into a tumble he never had a chance to recover from. Sahra scooped him up by the neck of his hood and lifted him off the ground, leaving him only able to kick and squeal in resistance.

"Enough, you little vermin!"

The Jawa didn't heed Sahra's warning and received a punch in the gut for his squirming.

"Oof," the Jawa groaned.

He held his stomach and muttered his bizarre language to himself weakly.

"I told you! And that's what you get," said Sahra.

"I think he's had enough. Ease your grip a little bit, or grab him from under the arms like a baby. Ok, little guy, tell us what you're doing here."

The little alien lifted his head up to look at me, forcing me to look a little above his hood because of the eerie glow of his never blinking eyes.

He chattered excitedly in his native tongue, seemingly weaving a tale no doubt as dangerous and thrilling as our own.

"Do you speak that?" Sahra asked me, the puzzlement clear on her face.

"No. Just give the ship a moment to translate."

She looked around the ceiling and said, "Wow. This ship is weird, huh?"

"It's not weird, it's myst-"

"JAWAESE DETECTED. STANDBY FOR TRANSCRIPT."

The Jawa whipped his head up, alarmed to hear a voice he couldn't find the source of.

"It's going to tell us what you said, Jawa. Just a computer," I said to both of them.

"I don't know how I got here!" the computer said, rather dryly.

We looked at each other and then our captive.

"Huh."

"Well. Tell us why you tried to steal our credits then."

The Jawa turned to Sahra but decided not to answer her directly.

He jabbered away to me and I struggled again to maintain eye contact with him, instead looking at Sahra until he was finished.

The computer recognized the language now and translated his speech much faster, only a few seconds delayed.

"I didn't think about it! I just saw a lot of money and took it. But you hit me and throw me in cell, so it's yours."

I shrugged and said, "Checks out, coming from a Jawa. Are you going to behave now? Can my partner here release you?"

It took a moment for the Jawa to work out the words in his mind. He nodded vigorously once he understood, and spoke once again.

"Oh, yes! I am good. I will be good. Let me go and I will be your friend!"

I nodded to Sahra and she let him go, albeit reluctantly.

The Jawa fell flat onto his face once his feet touched the deck, having been in the air too long, evidently. He got up and brushed himself off but didn't run away or attempt to steal anything from us.

"Thank you for keeping your word. Now, what should we do with you? We're not going back to Tatooine."

"We're on Roon," Sahra added. "Because of you, I might add. I hope you recall what happened in the Engine Room, because I won't forget it"

The Jawa was scared of her. Now that he was free he stepped over to me, almost clinging to me.

"There, there," I said, sliding him to the wall. "Do you want us to leave you on Roon? We're kind of divided on how to handle this. I'm pretty sure my friend here would like to throw you out the airlock, though."

His little mits disappeared into the darkness of his hood as he reeled, horrified.

Sahra only smiled a razor sharp smile, terrifying the Jawa even further. He squeaked a spree of syllables through his gloves, obviously attempting to appeal to us.

"I beg you! Don't! I give you Dee's word, I will help you! Serve you! I clean the ship when you sleep. Please, I promise."

The pleading of the pitiful creature sounded surreal in the ship's computer's chosen voice.

"His name is Dee?" Sahra asked the room.

The Jawa nodded.

"He wants to be the ship's janitor, as well. What do you think?"

Sahra crossed her arms and looked into the wrecked hyperdrive, scrutinizing the damage.

"If we find the coil, he can be our janitor."

The little creature's hood perked up at the prospect of Sahra's mercy.

"But," she added, "If we can't, and we have to coast from planet to planet searching for one, you're going in the mud right underneath us."

Dee rubbed his hands together but stayed silent.

"Alright, the deals been struck. Dee, you stay here. Someone needs to guard the ship, and I'm not sure how the locals will react to a Jawa. Sahra, lets go."

After retrieving a pair of boots from her quarters, and locking up the credits, we lowered the landing ramp. It fell to the mud with a solid smack. The heavy door sent mud flying a few meters away, before sinking partly into the mud. I cursed and buried my hands into my hair.

"Dee's first mess," Sahra laughed, slapping me on the back.

She jumped over the muddy lip of the ramp onto the sodden soil that bordered the mud field. I took a breath and leapt after her. I clicked the button on my control datapad and checked over my shoulder to watch the filthy door retract into the ship's body. It was a shame to see Bo so filthy, my pride and joy.

Mission-minded Sahra lead the way. We saw some ramshackle buildings on a hill overlooking the ragged farmland. Tiny figures were already watching with arms clutching their farming tools. A starship would of course cause a stir on such a rural world.

We met their envoy halfway to their homestead. A lean man with a straw hat and bare, blackened feet introduced himself as Leeshaw, 'Pa' of the Dalese Clan.

"Nice to meet you, sir," I said, offering him my hand

He considered it but spat into the mud instead.

"Beg your pardon, spacer. I've seen that gesture before, but it just isn't our way."

"Oh, of course. No problem, Mr. Leeshaw. My partner, Sahra, and I, are having some hyperdrive trouble. Would you happen to have some parts lying around or know anybody who does?"

The old farmer shook his head and swung his rake toward another hilltop shack to the north.

"I've never left this planet. Our neighbors, the Holcrits, their Pa's been up there," he said, indicating space above with the rake head.

Sahra frowned and kicked at the sodden soil.

"That's unfortunate but thank you for the lead."

Leeshaw bowed his head a touch and started plodding back to his family. I shrugged my shoulders and we made our way further into the world, toward the distant Holcrit Homestead. The going was irritating. Pockets of mud affronted our path, much to Sahra's consternation and our boots' frustration.

High stalks of the families' crops shrugged aside their mucky surroundings and rose alongside us in messy rows. Whatever food they grew here, it was plentiful, though Sahra couldn't discern what it was upon bending a stalk down for inspection.

Soon enough, the presumed Holcrits crested their hill and watched us approach. One figure lifted his arms up to his eyes, raising microbinoculars to his eyes. I waved but he remained frozen, watching us while his family skipped about. Sahra looked apprehensive but said nothing.

The Holcrits proved much harder to deal with, despite being altogether much more talkative. The man's kids reached us before their father. They forfeited a greeting in favor of shrill cries and jumping all over us.

"Hello!" said Sahra, scooping up a little barefoot farm boy.

The boy immediately latched onto her Lekku, astonishing the Twi'lek and impressing his brothers.

"Hey! That is not very nice!"

I pat a little girl on the head as I passed her to greet her approaching father.

"Hello, Mr. Holcrit, I presume?"

"Ahoy, spacer. I am Holcrit," the man croaked.

"Nice to meet you, sir. Your neighbor over there told us you had experienced space travel before. Our ship's taken some damage, would you happen to have a spare hyperdrive coil?"

He looked me up and down, suddenly suspicious.

"Leeshaw told you I had one?" he asked.

"No, he only pointed us your way on account of your experience off-world."

He spat much like his neighbor had but full of venom.

"Leeshaw needs to mind his business. Yeah, I've been off-world. I've got no ship to show for it now, though. I'm afraid you and your lady are out of luck."

I frowned and turned to convey the bad news to Sahra, but instead spotted Leeshaw and his kin fast approaching on saddled beasts. The Holcrit children scurried back to their father before they arrived. I didn't like the look on the men's faces so I hurried over to Sahra's side.

"Something happened. He thinks it was us," she whispered severely.

"You're probably right but remember that it wasn't."

Leeshaw hopped off his mount with the help of his sons, hobbling over to us with a scowl tearing across his weathered visage.

"_You!_" he hissed, stabbing a finger into my chest. "You took advantage of our good nature and let loose a beast upon us."

I noticed his sons wielded blaster rifles from the corner of my eye and held my arms out to calm the man.

"Leeshaw, what are you talking about, my friend?" What beast?"

Leeshaw seethed and pushed me aside, stomping up to the Holcrit man.

"Was it you who put them up to it, Trean? Finally leaving us all behind, huh? Going back up there with all you can _steal_ no less."

Sahra subtly wrapped her hands around her pistol grips. She winked at me, signaling her readiness to act. I only shrugged and moved to act as mediator between the locals.

"Dalese, what could you possibly have that I would want to steal? You've never been a day away from your farm your entire life."

Their bickering fell to the wayside along with my confusion as to what could have ruled up the old man. There, among the scrap littering Holcrit's farmyard was Dee. The little Jawa leaped up and down and waved to me like his life depended on it.

I pressed myself between the two men and tried my best to block our little friend from view with my body.

"Gentlemen, I'm sure there's something reasonable behind this. I know our timing is unfortunate but I've always heard that Roon is a strange place, right, Sahra?"

"Oh yes," she offered, a bit too enthusiastically. "The mud men."

"Yes, the mud men."

The native Roonans' jaws hung open.

"Mud men?" Leeshaw echoed.

"There's no mud men this part of the country. Not enough mud!" Holcrit informed us.

While they argued with Sahra and the sons, I snuck glances at the 'beast.' He dug through the trash, all the while carrying a little pouch over his shoulder. I tried my hardest to communicate that he should return to the ship with my face but it was unlikely he could see that well even if he understood the danger.

A crash.

Everyone stopped and searched for the source of the sound of metal on metal. Dee was nowhere to be seen, thankfully, but his mess made it very obvious that there was some truth to what Leeshaw believed. Before Holcrit could collar them, his youngsters were tearing off to investigate.

"You swamp rats! Get back here this instant!"

I took advantage of the chaos to hurriedly whisper the cause of our predicament to Sahra. She knew better than to voice her surprise but looked just as clueless as I felt on how to come out of this with a Jawa and a hyperdrive coil.

"Pa! Look!" one of his children cried out.

"What is it? Come away from there. Let me see."

The man's voice died in his throat as he examined what his son placed into his hands. Sahra and I stretched our necks to catch a peek but to no avail.

"What'd he bring you, Holcrit? Any sign of the creature?" Leeshaw asked.

Holcrit was at a loss for words. His shaking hands lifted an etched stone for us all to see. It was dull and an odd shape, but the carving that spanned the diameter of its face seemed to almost beckon me near. It seemed to have succeeded on Leeshaw, for he almost tackled Holcrit to the ground trying to snatch it from him.

"Get off of me!" he cried, burying the stone within his clothes as his assailant battered him. I attempted to intervene but the barrels of the Leeshaw sons' rifles stayed my hand, forcing my other to stay Sahra's who no doubt was almost clear of her holster.

We watched the old men struggle against one another in the mud much longer than I would have wished, had I not been forced to at gunpoint. Finally, Leeshaw rose, and behind him I saw Dee crawl out of one of Holcrit's shacks holding a large cylindrical tube over his head.

"Pa! Pa, hurry, look! The monster!" the Holcrit children cried.

"Oh, now what?" Leeshaw griped, hardly able to tear himself away from his stolen treasure to look at what the children saw.

Orange embers flashed behind the house, but not quickly enough to escape undetected. Even Holcrit had seen it from the mud he was laid out in. Leeshaw shouted a sort of war cry and hopped as quickly as he could manage after the alien. His boys quickly surpassed him and picked their way through the debris.

The Holcrit children helped their father up, rubbing the mud out of his eyes whilst jabbering excitedly about the strange creature they discovered. He said nothing but made his way around the other side. We watched both parties disappear around the shack and waited for it to play out. The children seemed to be ecstatic from all the excitement that was seldom for a planet like Roon.

Telltale squeals of a distressed Jawa rose shrilly over the homestead. Blaster fire erupted shortly after, bolts of red flew wide into the sky in rapid succession before ceasing altogether.

Sahra drew her blasters and advanced toward the other end of the building.

"Be careful!" I warned.

Before Sahra could answer, a little brown blur zoomed past her onto the mud field. She whirled about and was almost knocked over by the pursuing farmers. I decided this was our moment and took off after the fleeing Jawa. The angry Roonans shouted after me and would have taken the disoriented Sahra had they not been so tired.

"Thanks for the warning!" she called out to me after she had taken off running.

"He has a coil, I'm pretty sure!" I shouted to her as she caught up.

The Jawa proved too light footed to sink into the bog that so effectively absorbed us. Only a couple meters in and we found ourselves almost wholly immobile, forced to watch Dee grow smaller and smaller against the enormous drab sky.

Loud, brutal huffing came upon us after I had just begun to wonder if we were still being chased. Leeshaw barreled past Sahra on the long legged creature he had arrived on, kicking mud up into my eyes rather gracefully. I heard him hoot and holler after the hellbent Jawa. We couldn't hope to catch up with him.

Soon more wet hoof stomps could be heard bounding closer and closer to us. I felt profoundly afraid I would be run over and then it came to me.

"Split up!" I shouted.

Sahra yanked her feet out of the sucking mud and powered away from me. The rider started whooping, as I predicted, letting me know just how near he was advancing. I dug myself out of the muck just in time to jump.

The beast broke hard right, going after Sahra, the closer target. I shot out as if my tendons were only good for one last jump. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as I launched toward the animal's flank. Sahra dove out of its way, spraying mud out from under her sliding palms.

My hands gripped the filthy creature's hide, covered more in bristle than hair. I dug my fingers into its papery skin and dragged myself onto its back, just in time to duck out of the way of the rider's attempt to repel me.

Time resumed its natural flow and I saw Sahra jump up and shout something before I refocused on commandeering the beast. I freed my blaster from its holster and stuck it into the back of the man's neck. He tried to whip his head around but I only pressed the barrel into him harder to stop him.

"Ride as fast as this thing can take it!"

"Damn you, spacer," he grumbled, but complied with a whip of the animal's reins.

I turned around and meant to wave to Sahra but found I wasn't safe just yet. The second son was crouched upon his saddle, rifle brought to bear. I yanked down on my hostage's collar and thrust my blaster out toward my pursuer. I wasn't quick enough and my shot went wide as I ducked to avoid the projectile pass too close for comfort. I squeezed off a flurry of shots around the charging creature.

The look in its' eye was one of unfocused terror. I was sure it had never seen a blaster discharge in its life, the simple beast of burden it was. It's gallop slowed suddenly as it panicked, kicking up mud and attempting to get away from danger. The Leeshaw dropped his rifle into the mud as he fought to stay upright on his mutinous ride.

Satisfied the twirling farmhand was no longer a threat, I thrust the blaster back into the rider's neck. Leeshaw had already run down the Jawa, and was carrying his limp form back to his beast. He was smiling at us, obviously unaware of my presence at his son's back.

We closed the distance and to my surprise, the son didn't inform his father he was being held captive, though he could have made any face or signal to reveal this to him. I hopped off the back of the mount, dragging the son down with me before he had a chance to sabotage my element of surprise.

"It's over, Leeshaw. Put him down."

"So it is yours!" he screamed. "Here to plunder our Roonstones and sow dissent amongst the simple minded farmers! I won't let you get away with this."

Leeshaw tossed the Jawa aside and pulled his blaster rifle from the saddle. I pulled his son flush to my body and pointed my blaster at the furious farmer.

"We're not trying to do anything but fix our ship, and be on our way, Leeshaw. Now, put that thing down and let me get my little friend."

He shook his head, eyes set on mine.

I was relieved to see Dee still drew breath, but I worried for how much longer. Only the mounts disturbed our staredown, snorting and absently shaking mud off their legs. I saw his finger scratch at the trigger guard, uncertain he could beat me in the draw but itching to find out.

I drew as fast as I could, and I'm certain I would have shot first if Sahra hadn't charged through him on the third beast. Leeshaw was thrown like dice from a drunk's hand into the mud. He tumbled until he was covered head to toe with the dark muck, not even the whites of his eyes could be discerned as he lay still and ruined.

Sahra's beast screeched in alarm, thinking itself in danger. Sahra pet the creature along its bald scalp and thanked it for saving the day.

Leeshaw's son tried to break away from me, concerned with the state of his father. I pushed him down onto his knees and returned the blaster to his temple.

"I was going to get him," I said.

"He already got Dee, I couldn't let the little guy die for nothing. Or you, for that matter," she said, dismounting the creature.

She took the distressed farm boy and took up my duty. I shook my head and crouched down beside the exhausted Jawa.

"He's alright. Just not used to all the excitement I'm sure."

I helped him to his feet and supported him until he was steady. He thanked me, I assumed, and scurried over to Leeshaw.

"Hey, now, stay away from him, Dee."

Dee disregarded my apprehension and babbled cheerfully to himself. He picked his way through the filthy man's pockets with the hands of experts, retrieving the pouch and the Roonstone. My hand hovered over my pistol until he was hopping back to me. It was obvious Leeshaw wasn't getting up any time soon.

"Let me see my Pa!" said the son.

Sahra looked to me and I nodded in approval, prompting her to release him. He trudged over to him and looked somewhat relieved by what he found.

The Jawa and I joined Sahra by her mount and looked through what he had gathered. Most of it was worthless junk that would captivate a Jawa but there was indeed a hyperdrive coil, intact if a little worse for wear.

"Sahra, welcome aboard the newest member of our crew!"

Sahra grinned and pat the Jawa on the head, crushing the high point of his hood. Dee passed the Roonstone into her hands and busied himself fixing the point.

"Look at this thing! They called it a Roonstone. Do you know anything about it?" she asked, examining the strange inscription with her fingers.

"No. Must be something from this planet's ancient times. Has to be worth something somewhere, most likely."

"Until then," she said, handing it back to Dee, "you will be the custodian of the stone and the ship."

Dee accepted the stone and put it back into his pouch like he had been given a scrap of food for later.

Our salvation in hand, we returned to the ship. We piled onto the farmer's oblivious beast and rode it to his farm, leaving it there for the Roonan's trouble and walking the rest of the way.

I got to work on replacing the coil right away, while Sahra took to the refresher. Dee watched me and helped with the repair somewhat, handing me tools and parts upon my request. I have never been one for stowaways but he was beginning to grow on me. The union of such a bizarre, tiny creature and the sterile voice generated by the ship's computer endeared him to me in its novelty.

"I clean now. Where are supplies?" he said, handing me the last tool from the kit.

"Supplies? Oh. You'll find them in a closet in the common room."

He nodded and was on his way just as I had set the coil. The engine sparked to life and with it the gentle hum of its promise of space travel was resettled. I slapped the console in triumph and hurried to the Bridge to be free of the mudball that was Roon.

I opened up the galaxy map and plugged in Scarif to the navigational computer. The lush, tropical world beckoned to me like none other after experiencing Roon. I started the engine and kissed the surface of the bleak world goodbye. The landing gear, buried in muck, strained against its confines. Gravity defying engines shook the craft free and into the sky.


End file.
